In the music video for ‘Rush’, a Bacchanalian scene unfolds across a summer night in Berlin, choreographed in harmony to a thumping house beat. It’s raunchily celebratory of queer sensuality, instant-spark connection, and the art of partying hard; an ode to long nights that bleed into dazed mornings, to friends, sex and lovers. Above all, it’s a love letter to intimacy and different ways it can manifest. The sexual energy on display is so joyful, it doesn’t feel like being sold sex, but shown in revelric colours the magic of attraction and connection.
This could easily serve as the trailer for Troye Sivan’s new album Something to give each other, released in October. Turning a blind eye to the doom and gloom of world affairs, Sivan’s prime music is simply a good time. It’s a record about having fun that’s fun to listen to and even sounds like it was a blast to make.
Following a difficult breakup, Sivan said he dreaded the implicit duty of producing a sad breakup album. He was surprised to find his instincts leading him to an upbeat, 90s-inspired dance pop record about hedonism and intimacy. The album’s pleasure-seeking ethos constantly looks to line up the next thrill, or even trade the moment’s enjoyment for a better one. “Is it better where you are?” he asks a potential hook-up. “I’m right on top of this groove/But God, I wish it was you.”
He’s delightfully honest about his new philosophy. “I see love in every space/I see sex in every city” he sings on high-tempo ‘Honey’. ‘Got Me Started’ is carried by a garage-rhythm hopping deftly from A to B.
Single life comes with tentative navigation of impermanent relationships. ‘I’m a little bit lost on how to stay with you’ he confesses on the record’s closing track. He adds a little shade to an otherwise glowing picture; there is a space for vulnerability amidst his newfound liberation. But this is ultimately something else to embrace.
‘One of Your Girls’ addresses a common Queer dilemma of becoming an experiment to a questioning straight person. Like everything else on the record’s terrain, Sivan embraces it unfazed. “Give me a call if you ever get lonely/I’ll be like one of your girls” he promises breezily. Taking it all in his stride, he dresses in drag and seduces Ross Lynch for the music video. He returns to the restless curiosity of debut Blue Neighbourhood but ditches its wide-eyed stare. There’s a confidence that illuminates the record with a light but focused touch. This isn’t just a grown-up follow up.
“2018.06.10 Troye Sivan at Capital Pride w Sony A7III, Washington, DC USA 03483” by tedeytan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.